Vice President, Innovation

12+ years of experience in innovation, product development, or category strategy within food & beverage or adjacent consumer industries.

Demonstrated ability to build and manage innovation portfolios and product platform roadmaps.

Experience identifying and building the capabilities required to enter new product platforms (e.g., technical, operational, commercial).

Experience translating cross-functional innovation initiatives from early-concept through commercialization and scale.

Deep understanding of consumer insights, product development processes, and commercialization dynamics.

Strategic thinker with a passion for identifying white-space opportunities and breakthrough product platforms.

The expected starting salary range for this role is $275,000-$300,000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role. The amount a particular employee will earn within the salary range will be based on factors such as relevant education, qualifications, performance and business needs.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

No two days here are the same.

We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here.

We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.

We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.

The VP of Innovation will be responsible for leading Kinder’s innovation team and driving our pipeline across new products, categories, and emerging packaging formats.

This leader will play a critical role in shaping the future growth of the company by identifying new opportunities for flavor innovation and driving the development of capabilities required to successfully bring them to market.

This role owns development of the strategic innovation portfolio, including the evaluation, prioritization, and advancement of opportunities through the pipeline, building the roadmap for new platforms and categories, and leading the Innovation team to ensure early-stage concepts best meet consumer needs and have strong technical and commercial pathways to scale.

The VP of Innovation will work closely with cross-functional partners including Strategy, Consumer Insights, Culinary, R&D, Commercialization, Operations, and Creative (among others) to translate emerging ideas into viable opportunities and ensure strong alignment from concept through commercialization.

This role is also responsible for upholding a high bar for innovation, ensuring new platforms meet Kinder’s high quality standards and deliver exceptional consumer experiences.

Once a platform is technically stable and commercially validated, this role will be responsible for ensuring it is effectively transitioned to the Brand team for long-term ownership and continued growth. Success in this role requires both strategic thinking and operational leadership – balancing big-picture innovation strategy with the practical realities of product development, capability building, and commercialization in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment.